jessica

The yard of Pat Lero at 2314 Brooktree is the yard of the month for October 2010. Pat and her husband bought the house in 1986 so she has lived on Brookmere in Lazybrook for 24 years.

Pat does all her own yard work including planting, designing and mowing. She does get someone to do the edging.  The front yard is home to three  large trees.   In the center are two Red Oaks and off near the driveway there is a Burr Oak.  The trees were there when Pat and her husband moved to Lazybrook. They put the new front sidewalk in about 10 years ago.   It is made of pressed concrete and resembles flagstone in color as well as the surface texture. The sidewalk curves from the driveway to the front entrance to the home.

Earlier this year Pat reduced the size of some of the beds, specifically the one around the Red Oaks. Some of the original Azaleas (we think they are Formosa) which were there when they moved in are still planted between the sidewalk and the house. Pat has added some Encore azaleas closer to the front door. In addition there are some pink and some red Knockout Roses near the end of the house toward the driveway. One Caldwell Pink old rose is planted by the driveway.

All the beds except for the bed around the Red Oak are bordered with some beautiful rocks that Pat and her husband brought from their farm in Flatonia about 12 years ago. These rocks are unusual. They are a reddish brown color and they are smooth but not as smooth as River Rock. Each rock is about 5 or 6 inches long and almost as wide. These rocks add a very special touch to the borders of the beds.

Other plants which are in the beds in front of the house include two Gardenias, Aztec grass, Giant Lirope, Flax Lily and at the end, a Yellow Rose of Texas. Near the front door, Pat has selected a 3 foot tall Double Red Camelia and planted it in an ornate terra cotta pot which has aged to a beautiful mossy color.

Between the two large trees and just in front of the sidewalk, Pat and her husband placed a bench that they bought in Schulenberg. The bench has cast aluminum arms and legs which include an image of a large American eagle.  The slats on the back of the bench look like stripes on a flag and a cast aluminum rectangle with stylized stars is attached to the upper left corner of the back so the back of the bench looks like the American flag. Pat said the bench was her husband’s favorite spot before he died 3 ½ years ago.

On a Saturday morning at 8 am, I was driving by the house and I saw Pat in the yard planting yellow Chrysanthemums in the bed around the Burr Oak. I stopped and asked her if we could select her yard for “yard of the month.”  She responded that all of her hard work had paid off. Pat had placed three wooden pumpkins around the front of the Burr Oak tree.  Each pumpkin has the name of one of Pat’s granddaughters.